He pointed to the Republic’s 14.7 per cent economic growth in 2010 – thanks to a boost from the tourism and manufacturing sector – and said that the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s forecast of 4 to 6 per cent growth in 2011 is not bad for a mature economy like Singapore, reported Channel NewsAsia.

“To keep this going at this stage, we need several things,” said Mr Lee, who was speaking at the annual Tanjong Pagar Lunar New Year dinner.

“First, stability and confidence of investors. Stability means everybody is satisfied and acts like a good reasonable citizen, he owns his own home, he has got a good job, his children are going to good schools, polytechnics, universities, ITE,” said Mr Lee.

He continued, “All races are given equal treatment, all use the English language, it is a common platform, nobody gets an advantage and it is also the language which has enabled us to connect to the world and get investments in.”

One specific factor that will help Singapore achieve further progress is providing children with better schools and teachers, he noted.

Mr Lee added, “Fair play enables harmony to be maintained. On that basis, we will continue to do well for many, many more years and our children will grow up in one of the most safe, secure and prosperous countries in this part of the world, if not the whole world.”

02/11/2011

I came back home feeling a craving for many of the local food. I tried many yummilicious cuisine ie Wan Ton noodles, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Fried Fish Porridge, Hor Fun, Japanese Ramen, Chawanmushi etc etc... The price did not stop me from trying these food out as my craving overtook my concern for the price. I inquired a fellow friend of mine on what are the local beverages that I should not miss out on. The answer was that the list was long, oh my, there were addition to the already widely known Milo Dinosaur. Rose Coffee which is a combination of black and Rose syrup, Bandung Soda which is a fusion of Rose Syrup and Ice Cream Soda, and guess what now Horlicks Dinosaur! I cannot believe my ears and he also shared that some Western food stalls have branched out from the single stall they had. Some good examples include "Botak Jones", "Astons" and the good vision they had in common was to locate the food stalls in the neighbourhood so they are accessible to the public:)

02/09/2011

It was though a crowd to be at Bugis Village today but it was worth my time and the squeezing with other people... I passed by a street stall selling loads of fruit juice. U can buy most at Sing one dollar or at most two dollars and it was such a bargain. The juice is freshly squeezed and vitamins should be preserved in it still... I also got myself a camel coloured bag that looked like a million bucks but looks were deceptive as the bag only cost me a mere 15 dollars!:) There were many other available designs but I felt this particular colour could reflect my "down-to-earth" nature and the dark colour would not make stains look stark!

The last catch of the day there was a 2 dollar watch for my child and a 5 dollar one which was kinda a imitation of swatch series watch for me! Many would not realise how reasonably priced the items at Bugis were until they too find time to take a walk down there. I truly believe that Singapore, specially this part of Singapore, holds true to its name as a Shopping Paradise. I hope many people would be able to travel to Singapore and acquire goodies here which they could not get elsewhere and benefit from the 'true-blue' retail therapy:)

06/28/2010

My family is back in Singapore for a holiday... It was a great reunion after months of separation... The people I missed and the food is something that I look forward to having... We headed to the nearby hawker centre with a great selection of food and fill our stomachs to our heart's content...The LANGUAGE that we greatly missed is once again ringing in our ears... We hear English or u call it SINGLISH with the 'ahs' and the 'lors' and the Mandarin that has practically not heard at all in the kingdom of Cambodia is now used so commonly in the public places here... I appreciate the cosmopolitan-ness of this land, the multicultures and the varied languages used here... the efficiency of the locals is commendable and it is what makes this country so advanced and developing fast to be among the top in the world ... anyway, I am very glad to be back home:)